Harnessing
the
Power
of
the
Tides
Today, millions of countries, and provinces around the world are using the power of the tides to generate power for their public. An example of this is France. When considering a way to power this country, nuclear power was reommended, but to no avail, the best and cheapest was to generate power was by the tides. This was the choice because the North Coast of France has an unusually great range of tides, enough energy to generate 625,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year.
Using the oceans as our source of power is not some new and novel idea, it's has been contemplated by many great scholars, and used by many ancient cities. The Romans built tide mills in England after they conquere and occupied the country. The design they used was so satisfactory, that many after, copied that very same plan. In the beginning they were used to grind grain and corn, now they are used to generate electricity. The way these mills were powered was by a dam. Heavy doors built into the dam would open and shut with the tide. When the tide rose, the water pushed against the doors until they opened and continued to flow in until at high tide the level of the water on both sides of the dam was the same. When the tide began to ebb and the water behind the dam tried to run out, the pressure on the doors forced them to close. Whoever owned the mill, would now have to wait until the tide had ebbed a great deal, the water on the seawrd side of the dam should have fallen considerably below the level of the water on the other side. Then a narrow gate was opened and water came gushing out, rushing through a channel called a sluiceway, to the mill. Since the water was flowing from a higher to lower level, it developed sufficient speed to turn the mill wheel. The only cost of this power supply is what it cost's to build the dam. That is an example of how a tide mill works, over the years the design has changed slightly, and the use has differed, but the basic plan remain's the same. Tidal power is a good, cheap source of power, I recommend it!
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